In 2009, the FBI publicly introduced the term and initiative “Going Dark,” a reference to a “capability gap” between the Bureau and the public. To this day, the FBI maintains a position of inferiority to users of any type of encryption. Their struggle, as seen in the changes to Rule 41, has taken the form of a fight to legally circumvent any type of electronic privacy.
“The notion that privacy should be absolute, or that the government should keep their hands off our phones, to me just makes no sense given our history and our values.” – Former President Barack Obama as cited by Former FBI Director James Comey.
When the Federal Bureau of Investigation started the Going Dark initiative, they may have done so with innocence. The government created one of the very programs the FBI feared—onion routing—and now the FBI owns undisclosed Tor exploits that provide full circumvention of the onion network. Yet, the FBI wrote that “state and local law enforcement agencies are being shut out; and the FBI is barely keeping its head above water.”
“All law enforcement agencies are in imminent danger of ‘Going Dark. The risks associated with Going Dark are grave both in traditional criminal matters as well as in national security matters.” – Comey at the Statement Before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in 2015.
One can easily see, from DeepDotWeb articles alone, that law enforcement in the United States faces no darkness. In nearly every statement made by a law enforcement agent for a US Attorney’s Office, the darknet receives a mention for no longer being a criminal safe haven. In the case against Chukwuemeka Okparaek, HSI Special Agent Angel M. Melendez said:
“The defendant used an online black marketplace known as the ‘darknet’ to acquire large amounts of fentanyl which is a major factor in the large increase in overdose fatalities in our area. Describing himself as a darknet drug trafficker, this arrest shows that the darknet is no longer a secret place for criminals to conduct illegal activity while evading law enforcement.” Arrest Of Chukwuemeka Okparaeke. U.S. Attorney’s Office, 20 Mar. 2017. Web. 12 May 2017.
Similar statements are mirrored in innumerable cases. And the number of ongoing cases is truly astounding—yet new vendors sell every day. New buyers buy every day. And most importantly, new marketplaces start up as soon as another goes down.
Law enforcement touts their ability to capture drug buyers and sellers routinely but focus on the bigger risks. For a long period of time following the Silk Road, child pornography forums dominated FBI investigations. Then fentanyl and Carfentanil became issues and, on the turn of a dime, the FBI arrested *anyl/anil vendors, back-to-back. They could take down, within reason, whoever they wanted eliminated from the drug crypto market scene. Is it worth their time, though, is the question.
The US government fights for more power in decrypting mobile devices routinely. The most recent example that broke news worldwide might have been when the FBI took Apple to court as they refused to create a govOS for hacking a criminal’s iPhone. The FBI went ahead and bought an exploit from their friends at an Israeli cyber defense company. That company, we learned, provided the FBI with exploits for years on end. Tim Cook, current CEO of Apple:
“Going dark–this is a crock. No one’s going dark. I mean really, it’s fair to say that if you send me a message and it’s encrypted, they can’t get that without going to you or to me, unless one of us has it in our cloud at this point. But we shouldn’t all be fixated just on what’s not available. We should take a step back and look at the total that’s available, because there’s a mountain of information about us.” Grossman, Lev. “Apple CEO Tim Cook: Inside His Fight With the FBI.” Time, 17 Mar. 2016. Web. 12 May 2017.
The FBI routinely enters the darknet without blinders on. Vendors and buyers are arrested before a package even arrives at a buyer’s house. The Bureau, time after time, has called the darknet an unsafe place for criminals. The Advisory Committee controversially updated Rule 41 and gave the FBI unprecedented hacking power—legal hacking power; the FBI used the very tactics outlined in Rule 41 long before the Committee signed the Rule. They know what they are doing, even in the dark.
But “Going Dark” is a myth. State hackers possibly outrank the FBI in a cat and. mouse scenario. Not singular entities. Not darknet marketplace vendors. Not CP forum owners. The FBI simply wants their job easier. Not an unreasonable desire as encryption can be a pain to deal with. But their argument is backed up by numerous success stories, proving the exact opposite of what they claim.
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